I Know
by headcanonsfiringaway
Summary: Daryl has trouble expressing his concerns after over hearing Carols conversation with Merle, but Carol always understands him. She knows. This is an extremely late submission for the USS Caryl's "What If?" fic competition, submitted in the name of fun :)


In the deleted scene between Carol and Merle, what do you think would have happened if Daryl had accidentally overheard that conversation?

Daryl paced furiously out the front of Merle's cell, an internal battle was exploding inside of him. Carol.

Merle.

Carol.

_Merle._

Carol?

He grunted in his frustration, wishing he'd never heard the conversation between the two. It raised a question in his conscious he'd hoped he would never have to answer. If it ever came down to it, would he choose Carol or Merle? Merle was his brother, he had been there with Daryl through everything, even when he left Daryl alone with their father, he'd always looked out for him, Merle was the only constant in Daryl's turbulent life, he owed so much to him. But Carol, she was… Carol, an inexplicable force in his life, someone he should've never met. His heart ached, the same way it did whenever he thought of her. She made him almost thankful for the walkers. If they didn't exist, she would still be with that dead beat of a husband, he would still be touching her, leaving bruises on her, scars in places no one else would see, his vision went red, his fist flew towards a wall. He wished he could've hit the man himself, he wished that he could've known Carol in Atlanta, gotten her and Sophia out of there safely, away from the walkers, and more importantly, _Ed_. Sophia. He could still see her face in his mind, the human version, the walker version haunted him in his dreams. He tried desperately to slow his angry breathing, a soft voice interrupted his train of thought,

"Daryl? What are you doing?"

His eyes met with Carol's worried ones, she looked so concerned it made him feel guilty,

"Nothin'"

He answered shortly. Daryl had been avoiding her since he'd heard her threatening to slit his brother's throat. Or at least he'd been trying to. It was hard to stay away from her, he found himself secretly making sure he knew where she was and what she was doing during the day. Carol looked hurt,

"Look, Daryl-"

"What? I'm busy"

"Doing what!? Avoiding me? I'm not stupid Daryl, I know that you heard Merle and I talking. I wanted to apologise, but I haven't been able to find you for the past two days."

Without knowing, she'd just dropped an elephant on his chest. He wanted to reach out and just touch her, to reassure that it was okay, that he didn't mind, though he didn't, because he was scared that she'd pull away. But he did mind, he was caught off guard by the woman's statement,

"I- I jus' thought that you mighta backed me up with this one"

Daryl avoided her eyes, he stared at the floor, hoping she'd leave, but at the same time hoping she'd stay,

"Oh, Daryl."

She sighed in a sorry way, then walked over to stand next to him,

"I am so sorry. I never thought you… It wasn't my place, this is between you and Merle. I should've stayed out of it."

A small simmer in his throat turned into a boil, and words suddenly flew from his mouth without his permission,

"That's not the problem!"

It made him nervous to know that he cared so much, he didn't want her to be a liability for him. But she was. Carol flinched away from his yelling, her whole body retracting from the anger. For a brief moment, he though he saw her looking at him in a familiar way, the same way she looked at Ed.

"No, Carol I didn't mean to- You know I would never hurt you, right?"

"I know, you know I'd never do anything to hurt you, too?"

"I know. I'm not angry, it's just. I don't wanna have to choose."

"Choose?"

"Between you and Merle… I can't"

"Oh, god, Daryl… I hope you never have to, but if you ever do, know that I'll understand."

"I know."

Carol reaches out timidly and holds onto his fingertips, and the last barrier is broken, and Daryl wasn't worried or angry anymore because she knows, and he knows, too.


End file.
